--- title: Condoms In Venezuela Now Cost $755 at Official Rates Per Pack of 36 description: As a result of the government's policy of slashing imports, consumer goods like contraceptives have become scarce and hugely expensive canonical: https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-05T05:28:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:10:03.773Z article:section: World og:title: Are These the World's Most Expensive Condoms? og:description: In Venezuela, a 36-pack of Trojans now costs $755 at official exchange rates. og:url: https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Are These the World's Most Expensive Condoms? twitter:description: In Venezuela, a 36-pack of Trojans now costs $755 at official exchange rates. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # A 36-Pack of Condoms In Venezuela Now Costs $755 at Official Rates by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Feb 5, 2015 5:28 AM CUT by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Feb 5, 2015 5:28 AM CUT In Venezuela, a 36-pack of Trojan [condoms](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/the-755-condom-is-the-latest-indignity-in-venezuela "undefined") now costs $755 at the official exchange rate. That’s the [price being asked](http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ve/MLV-431751636-preservativos-trojan-enz-premium-caja-40-unidades-%5FJM "undefined") on the MercadoLibre website, where Venezuelans go to buy goods in short supply. Compare that to a box in the U.S., which goes for $21. The huge markup is due to the collapse in oil prices, which has had disastrous consequences in Venezuela, Bloomberg reports. The South American country relies on crude-oil exports for 95% of its foreign-currency earnings and has seen a 60% fall in those exports over the past seven months. As a result of the government’s policy of slashing imports to make up for the deficit, consumer goods have become scarce and expensive, and people are forced to queue for hours to get basic products such as meat, sugar, medicine and now contraceptives. For those with access to American dollars, condoms can be bought on the black market for around $25\. But this is only the lucky few. The lack of access to contraceptives could deepen the country’s social problems. Venezuela has one of South America’s highest rates of HIV infection and teenage pregnancy. Because abortion is illegal, the disappearance of condoms and other forms of birth control like the pill may force more women to clandestine abortion clinics, increasing the risk of maternal deaths. \[[_Bloomberg_](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/the-755-condom-is-the-latest-indignity-in-venezuela "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/"},"headline":"A 36-Pack of Condoms In Venezuela Now Costs $755 at Official Rates","datePublished":"2015-02-05T05:28:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:10:03.773Z","description":"Because of a near-defaulting economy, consumer goods such as condoms are scarce and hugely marked up","url":"https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/","keywords":["Venezuela","abortion","Contraceptives","HIV","condoms","Collapse","imports","Oil prices"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/venezuela/","name":"Venezuela"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3696663/condoms-venezuela/","name":"A 36-Pack of Condoms In Venezuela Now Costs $755 at Official Rates"}}]}] ```